المنتدى

Context

The study of labor market behaviors and dynamics is a central part of Egypt’s development process and the creation of new jobs. Since good quality data is the basis for any sound scientific research, the Economic Research Forum has invested time and effort in carrying out the Egyptian labor market survey over the past 20 years. The Economic Research Forum conducted four survey rounds in 1998, 2006, 2012 and recently 2018, in collaboration with CAPMAS.

The 2018 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey measures several indicators related to employment, labor market activity, household economic status and property, education, health, marriage, family formation and migration. The survey also measures indicators of employment instability, mental health, disability, self-belief, women’s empowerment, food security, hazardous work, community infrastructure, housing costs, agricultural livelihoods, and coping strategies for traumatized households.

The Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey 2018 included a sample of 15,746 households representing 61,231 individuals. 85% of the 12,060 households visited in the 2012 survey were re-visited, and the survey team was able to visit 82% of the 4,598 split households. Furthermore, in order to study the degree of economic vulnerability, a new sample of 2000 households that oversamples the poorest villages in the country, with a response rate of 98% among these households.

Using this wealth of data, the Economic Research Forum is producing a new book for the sequential Labor Market Panel Survey series. This book seeks to study the evolution of the labor market in Egypt from 2012 to 2018 and analyze it from a gender perspective and the degree of vulnerability to economic changes.

Conference objectives and Setting

The conference aims at providing a platform for the dissemination of results of the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey 2018 and discussing the impact of these results on public policies with decision-makers and experts from academia, international organizations, civil society and the private sector.

The two-day conference will cover the following aspects:

• The first day deals with the topics of jobs and gender, starting the day with the opening session, which presents an overview of the ELMPS 2018 and the evolution of labor supply in Egypt. This will be followed by four presentations in two consecutive sessions.
• The second day deals with the issues of social protection and economic vulnerability. Afterwards, six presentations will be staged in three consecutive sessions.
• The conference will conclude with a closing panel focusing on key messages and recommendations emerging from the conference towards future policy considerations.

Agenda Highlights

Day 1 – Jobs and Gender

• Panel 1 – Project Overview by Ragui Assaad; Introducing the ELMPS 2018 and Evolution of Labor Supply in Egypt from 1988-2018.

• Panel 2: Job Creation and School-to-Work Transition
  • Ragui Assaad, Abdelaziz Alsharawy, and Colette Salemi; Is the Egyptian Economy Creating Good Jobs? Job Creation and Economic Vulnerability from 1998 to 2018.
  • Mona Amer and Marian Abdelnour Atallah; School-to-Work Transition and Youth Economic Vulnerability.

• Panel 3 – Women and Work
  • Caitlyn Keo, Caroline Krafft, and Luca Fedi; Rural Women in Egypt: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities.
  • Reham Rizk and Ali Rashed; Trends and Determinants of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Egypt.

Day 2 – Social Protection and Economic Vulnerability

• Panel 1: Social Protection, Shocks, & Coping
  • Irene Selwaness and Maye Ehab; Social Protection and Vulnerability in Egypt: A Gendered Analysis
  • Imane Helmy and Rania Roushdy; Household Vulnerability and Resilience to Shocks in Egypt

• Panel 2: Issues of Health & Migration
  • Maia Sieverding and Rasha Hassan; Associations between economic vulnerability and health and wellbeing in Egypt
  • Anda David, Nelly El-Mallakh and Jackline Wahba; Internal versus International Migration: Substitutes or Complements

• Panel 3: Wages and Dynamics of Public Sector Hiring
  • Mona Said, Rami Galal and Mina Sami; Inequality and Income Mobility in Egypt.
  • Sevane Ananian; Wages in Africa: Recent trends in average wages, gender pay gaps and wage disparities.
  • Ghada Barsoum and Dina Abdallah; Dynamics of Public Sector Hiring in Egypt.

• Panel 4: Closing Session on Egyptian Labor Market Policies